Pitfalls in the diagnosis of origin stenosis of the coeliac and superior mesenteric arteries with transabdominal color duplex examination.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of respiration, localization of the Doppler sample, and the presence of origin stenosis on the Doppler parameters of coeliac and superior mesenteric arteries in 22 patients undergoing elective abdominal vascular reconstructive surgery under standardized stable anesthesia. Deep inspiration decreased peak systolic and end diastolic velocities of the coeliac artery origin. Proximal to distal Doppler velocities of normal coeliac and superior mesenteric artery origins were comparable. However, in the presence of an origin stenosis, the increase of Doppler velocities at the origin of the coeliac and superior mesenteric arteries is likely to be missed by transabdominal scanning.